Bert Ouellette Looking For Mr. Rooter Truck Series Stafford Speedway Sweep
Stafford Springs, CT — After winning the season-opening race of the 2016 Mr. Rooter Truck Series at Stafford Speedway in April as part of the NAPA Spring Sizzler, Ellington native Bert Ouellette and the #151 Cindy Burdick Motorsports team are looking to complete the season sweep by winning the Truck Series feature during this weekend’s, October 8 & 9, NAPA Fall Final Weekend.
“We’re hoping we can repeat and sweep Stafford for the Trucks in 2016,” said Ouellette. “Knowing that we got the last win at Stafford and we’ve run well in the past there, it gives us a good feeling for the weekend. We’re definitely there to win the race and the biggest thing will be for us to keep the nose of the truck clean. There’s some really good competition going on in the trucks this year. I think Allen and Corey Coates are going to be strong, the Dumicich’s are going to be back, Andy Lindeman is going to be tough. It’s going to be a very similar field to the Spring Sizzler. To be able to win that race coming from the back in a field like that was a huge confidence boost for us to kick off the season.”
Ouellette won the first two races of the 2016 season before enduring a 4-race dry spell. Ouellette won the most recent truck race at Monadnock to get back to his winning ways just in time for Stafford, which is Ouellette’s home track.
“I’d like to think we’re back on a roll and it was a big win at Monadnock,” said Ouellette. “That track has always treated us nicely and being the end of the season, we’re coming back to tracks we’ve already raced at and won. The Monadnock win gave a lot of confidence back to both me and the team. This may be our year if we run the races right and I think we have a good shot at being the team to beat. Definitely, it’s a boost for me racing at Stafford and our Stafford victory earlier this season is one of my most precious wins. Being able to win in front of family and friends is great. The Sizzler win was pretty cool, even friends from the campgrounds came down to victory lane. There were so many friends and family in the picture you couldn’t even see the truck. If we could pull off the sweep, it would be huge for the whole team. Harold Burdick used to be an announcer at Stafford so it was special to win the Sizzler and Stafford is a track that means a lot to everyone on the team.”
The Sizzler win kicked off the first season that the Mr. Rooter Truck Series has utilized a chase format to determine its champion. Although he is third in points entering the NAPA Fall Final, Ouellette is number one in the Truck chase grid with three victories and he feels like he has an excellent chance at taking the championship home with a good run in the final truck race of the season.
“I’d like to think we have a pretty good chance at winning the championship,” said Ouellette. “Our last race of the season is going to be at Waterford and we won there earlier this spring. With the trucks having the chase format this season, winning those first two races really took the pressure off of us and we could just go out and race and if something happens then it happened and it just set the tone for the season for us. We’ve won the most races this year and we’ve also had some coulda-woulda-shoulda races. I’m hoping we can win that last race and take home the championship. I have to thank Passing Bird Photography, Advanced Auto Parts of Brooklyn, Cindy Burdick Motorsports, and I have to give a big thank you to everyone on the crew. The crew has spent a lot of time in the garage to get these trucks running at the level that they’re running at.”
The 2016 NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend gets underway on Saturday, October 8th with practice sessions for Stafford’s Whelen All-American Series divisions, Legend Cars, TQ Midgets, Mr. Rooter Truck Series, and the Whelen Modified Tour. Action continues with Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour cars, along with heat races for all divisions except for the Legend Cars. Feature events for the SK Light, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, TQ Midgets, and Mr. Rooter Truck Series divisions will wrap up Saturday’s on-track activities. The NAPA Fall Final continues on Sunday, October 9th with the NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party from 11am-12noon followed by feature events for Stafford’s SK Modifieds®, Late Models, Whelen Modified Tour, and Legend Cars.
Tickets for the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $42.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Visit your local participating NAPA Auto Parts Store for discount tickets.
For more information on the 44th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR